The Texas high school basketball world was rocked for the second time in less than two months, as Duncanville High School point guard Deion Jackson-Houston was killed in an automobile accident in Oklahoma Saturday evening. Jackson-Houston was 17.
Stacy Houston, Jackson-Houston's father, said the 6-foot 2012 prospect reportedly was hit by an oncoming train as he was making a trip to a local Family Dollar store in Duncan, Okla. The train hit the back rear door of the automobile Jackson-Houston was driving.
Deion Jackson-Houston
"He didn't have any cuts on his face, but it [the incident] punctured his lung," Stacy Houston said. "He had a lot of blood fill up in his chest. They did a CAT scan to see if he had blood on his brain, and he had a little bit on the bottom of his brain. It wasn't like he ran a guard rail or tried to beat the train or anything. It was just a freak accident, basically."
Houston added: "We're holding on as best as we can right now ? but it's tough."
Jackson-Houston's death comes roughly seven weeks after the death of Texas A&M signee Tobi Oyedeji. The Houston Bellaire product was killed in a head-on collision on May 16 after attending his prom.
Jackson-Houston was a starter for a Duncanville team last year that included McDonald's All-American forward/center Perry Jones and Division I high-major prospects in Julian Washburn and Luke Mergerson. He played summer ball for the TX Bluechips-Navy, a team scheduled to participate in the Great American Shoot-Out that tips-off Friday in Duncanville.
The GASO will tip off the live evaluation period for college coaches and recruiters, and Jackson-Houston was one of the athletes looking to make an impression. Jackson-Houston already had received offers from SMU, TCU, North Texas, Florida International and Georgia State, and he had garnered interest from Baylor, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Texas Tech, among other schools.
Several area basketball players chimed in on Jackson-Houston's Facebook page Saturday night and very early Sunday morning, including rising 2011 guard Pierre Hayden, 2010 forward and Nicholls State signee Chris Talkington and 2011 standout Sheldon McClellan, who not only was very good friends with Jackson-Houston but also friends and teammates at Bellaire with Oyedeji.
"We'll all remember the good memories," Talkington's comment read. "Love you, bro. You won't be forgotten."
Stacy Houston said funeral arrangements are pending. An autopsy will be scheduled for early this week.
